Indie band Athlete have spoken about faith and topping the charts
MAINSTREAM band Athlete, whose Christian faith was recently
highlighted in a Guardian newspaper article, have seen their second
album 'Tourist' debut at number one in the national album charts. The
band's lead singer Joel Pott spoke to a journalist about their hit
single "Wires" featured on the album. The song was inspired by the
birth of his daughter. "Literally a few hours after the birth Myla had
a seizure and was rushed into intensive care. I was at home and got a
call from Zoe and rushed into hospital. I don't think either of us had
ever had an experience like that before, where you're just absolutely
overwhelmed with joy at the birth of your first child and then a few
hours later something traumatic like that happens. But as soon as I
got into hospital I had this overwhelming sense of peace, which was
really strange. It was a real sense that, yeah, she was going to be
alright."
In a recent article in the Guardian Paul Adlington,
pastor of the Bear Church in Deptford at which some members of Athlete worship, told
the newspaper he believed it was wrong to pressure Christian artists
into nailing their religious colours to the mast. "Faith is quite a
personal thing, it's not fair to make a big fuss of it. I see it like
a family where people don't gossip about one another. It is inevitable
that talented artists will emerge out of church groups owing to the
emphasis on music."